Riddiford Garden upgrade

Riddiford Garden is at the heart of our CBD.

Riddiford Garden is part of our city’s Civic Centre and is an important component of the exciting Civic Precinct redevelopment. The main entrance to Riddiford Garden is on the corner of Laings Road and Queens Drive in Lower Hutt.

The Civic Precinct Steering Group, made up of councillors and Council staff, is responsible for overseeing the Riddiford Garden upgrade project.

What's this project about?

Riddiford Garden is one of our most significant stretches of green space in the CBD. It is an exciting community space that integrates the parkland setting with neighbouring building projects in the Civic Precinct.

Recreation is the focus of Riddiford Garden. The horticultural displays and mature trees are important components of the site and contribute to both the established and soft character of the site.

The project objectives are to:

develop a popular, safe and vibrant garden which residents and people working in the CBD can be proud of

provide an obvious, accessible and high quality connection between the CBD, the War Memorial Library, the Dowse Art Museum and the new Events Centre

improve the appearance of Opahu Stream

provide surprises and fun to attract families and community

provide opportunities for active recreation and outdoor settings for people to meet.

Project stages

A concept plan to upgrade the garden was adopted by Council in 2014. In March 2015 after discussions with stakeholders such as neighbours, historians and local residents, an updated concept plan (PDF 3Mb) was created and approved by Council in 2016. The upgrade was planned to evolve in three stages.

Phase 1 and 2 of the upgrade are complete. Included in these phases were:

the upgraded Anzac Memorial Lawn in front of the War Memorial Library

an improved entrance to the park on the corner of Laings Road and Queens Drive

a basketball half court and skate friendly landscape

attractive modern accessible public toilets and a community bookable kiosk

a permanent table tennis table

new frontage for Council's main Building at 30 Laings Rd with contemporary landscaping.

Where are we at?

Phase 3 of the project involves:

developing a car park east of the Events Centre currently under construction

creating a sunken plaza in the centre of the park with a playful water feature

new paving and path upgrades allowing greater access to Opahu Stream and into the Events Centre.

$4.5 million has been allocated for this phase, with funding split into garden work and work associated with car park areas in Laings Road.

Our expectation is that the landscape works and Events Centre construction will happen alongside each other, and that work on the Garden will be completed in mid-2018 in time for the Events Centre opening.